Welcome to Church on the Hill, Glenavon, Sask, Canada

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Nikki Goes Back to Australia

Nikki, a delightful exchange student, will be flying home to Australia at 10:30 am on Thurs, Jan 31st. We ask that you pray for her safe journey home.

Pastor Lorne mentioned that she's going back to her school of 600 students where she is President of the Student Council.

While here, she is a member of Pastor Lorne and Dianne's family where she 'cooks tea'. Pastor Lorne explained with a smile that it means she makes supper.

Nikki's goal is to become a medical doctor.

She attended Church on the Hill for the final time on Sunday. On behalf of the church, Rose presented Nikki with a quilt and she will also receive a Bible.

Nikki graciously accepted the quilt. She thanked the church for being her 'adopted family' and said she'll be back.

I talked to Nikki tonight, on the eve of her leaving. She was having some friends over for a last goodbye party but took time to answer some questions.

Anita: How long were you in Canada?Nikki: 2 mos. It’s my summer vacation.

Anita: Was it what you expected?Nikki: Not really, no. It was different from what I expected because I didn’t realize that Saskatchewan was so rural. I thought it would have more big cities.

Anita: Was it easy to make friends?Nikki: Yes, through the church youth group.

Anita: What about school?Nikki: Lovely people but I had a value clash with others.

Anita: What is the biggest difference between Can and Aust?Nikki: The food! We don’t have bagels, poutine or perogies in Aust and I’ll miss them. Also, there is a 90 deg C temp difference. It’s +40C in Aust today. (Note – the temp here yesterday was -51C/-56.8F with the wind chill.)

Anita: Is the money that different?Nikki: I kept having trouble with the coins because I’d never had a penny before. I found it funny that you can rip your money because our bills are made of plastic.

Nikki, we pray that God will shower you with blessings. We are very sad to see you leave.